Do Security Cameras Make People Heroic?

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Security cameras are popping up everywhere in an effort to reduce crime and with them, growing concerns that personal privacy is being chipped away.

However, psychologist Marco van Bommel of VU University in Amsterdam says that these cameras are having an unintended effect, which adds to their crime-fighting capabilities.

According to van Bommel and his research team, if law-abiding people know they’re under surveillance, they’ll be more inclined to help a crime victim since the video footage would show them acting heroically.

The finding was made in an experiment in which money was left out in the open and swiped by a person taking part in the study. It was noted that people were more apt to intervene if a security camera was prominently displayed.

Therefore, van Bommel concluded that perhaps people are motivated to do something if they know that a video camera is rolling, often because they don’t want to appear cowardly or apathetic.